MechQuest: The Rival Alliance
by DarthBubbles
Summary: MechQuest Fic. The WolfBlades and the RuneHawks have always been rivals, so when A WolfBlade and RuneHawk fall in love, chaos ensues. But when the Shadowscythe attack, can their love bring the two houses together to save Soluna City? ON INDEFINITE HIATUS


Bailee Harman

Sally took another nervous sip from her cup of coffee. She had dreamed of becoming a star pilot since she was a child, and now that her one chance was drawing nearer, she had become more and more fearful that opportunity would pass her by.

She was on a star cruiser bound for GEARS University in Soluna City, where nearly all successful Mecha pilots graduated from. Everyone on board the ship was going for the same reason, including one young woman that Sally found was standing less than a meter away from her and staring at her.

"Oh, hi," Sally said quickly, taking another gulp of coffee.

The woman grinned and stuck out a hand. "Hi! I'm Skye. Are you going to GEARS University too?"

Sally drank some more coffee. "I hope so. The entrance exam only has a 15% survival rate, and that includes the people who don't pass."

"And you're nervous."

Sally finally looked up into the woman's face and away from her coffee. She had sparkling blue eye and smooth brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, and fair skin that made Sally feel like a total wreck.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Well, you're drinking more pounds of coffee than a gorillaphant eats in meat at lunchtime. That's a known side effect of nervousness."

Sally smiled as she filled her cup up with more coffee from the machine behind her before turning back to Skye.

"I guess so. I need the energy, though, right?"

Skye tilted her head somewhat. "Actually, eating a fresh green apple every morning will give you more energy for the day than a cup of coffee will."

"Really? Thanks! I think the galley has some produce." Sally set her coffee down on a table. "And once we get to GEARS, if we both make it through, maybe we can hang out sometime."

Skye nodded. 'That'd be great. I'm sure I could-"

Skye was cut off by a loud whoop from across the room. She looked over to the video game systems, where two men that seemed about her age, one may have been older, were standing.

"Hand it over," one of the men said, a boy with pale skin and dark blue hair.

A man with sandy hair and a few freckles along the bridge of his suntanned nose reluctantly pulled some credits out of his wallet and pressed them into the other man's hand. Skye rolled her eyes. It was so childish to play video games, let alone bet on them.

"Thank you!" Pale Skin said.

Sandy Hair glared at him. "You know that if we were battling real mecha I would've won. This is just a stupid video game."

"Then you shouldn't have made the bet!" Pale Skin said cheerily. "But we can duel if you want when we get to GEARS."

"When we do, I want my money back."

"Is that another bet? Are you sure you want to lose more money?"

"Positive."

Pale Skin shrugged. "Okay. I'm gonna go get some equipment from Tek. Meet you when we land!"

"Alright." Sandy hair grinned, and it was finally apparent that the two were friends. "See you at GEARS, Alex!"

Alex lifted a hand to acknowledge the other man as he walked on. Sandy Hair turned, and his soft brown eyes met Skye's brilliant blue ones. Skye looked down, embarrassed.

Sandy Hair walked forward, his boots echoing on the metal floor. He stopped directly in front of Skye. "I noticed you staring," he said. "See anything you like?"

Skye looked up, hardly realizing she was blushing. She was partly surprised to see him grinning, showing off a brilliant white smile. Skye considered his question. In fact, she could think of multiple very true answers to that question, but found that she was already blushing enough and held her tongue. She had never been too good with men, and she was sure her luck wasn't going to change in an instant with this man.

She shrugged. "I heard you screaming after that game. You think that it wouldn't draw someone's attention?"

"Actually, that was Alex screaming."

Skye's eyebrow rose in question. "Alex?"

Sandy Hair smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Of course! My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Airon, and my buddy you saw back there with the blue hair is Alex."

"I'm Skye."

Airon grinned. "Nice to meet you, Skye. Hey, maybe I'll see you around GEARS. We freshmen got to stick together. I hear the older students like to pick on us, especially the MystRavens. And Warlic doesn't do anything about them! They say he wants us to sort out our own problems."

"MystRavens?" Sally asked. Skye jumped. She had forgotten she was here.

Apparently, Airon hadn't noticed her either. "Whoa, who are you?"

"Sally. Now tell me what MystRavens are! And who is Warlic?"

"Warlic is the Dean of GEARS University. He says he's trying to prepare us for the future, but everyone knows he's looking into the disappearance of the dragons from the galaxy. And MystRaven is one of the three houses of GEARS. The others are WolfBlade and RuneHawk. Everyone has to be part of a house, and your decision affects your life as a mecha pilot."

Sally picked up her coffee and took a sip, nervous again. "Scary."

Airon shook his head. "Not really. All you gotta do is find out what type of person you are. I consider myself a brave, valiant, and honorable warrior, so I'm on my way to WolfBlade."

Skye rolled her eyes. "I consider you a stuck up idiot."

Airon grinned. "Ouch. Did you just hit on me? And that just proves that I'm not gonna be in RuneHawk. That's for the nerdy people. RuneHawks always have their noses in books."

Skye shook her head. "Why I would flirt with you, I have no idea."

Airon chuckled. "You're doing it right now. And you know you like it."

Skye's cheeks turned a bright magenta color. "Do not!"

Airon was still smiling. "Whatever you say. You can't hide the truth."

Sally cut in. "Would you two just _stop_ flirting? You both are making my head spin. Flirt when we get to GEARS, we all just met!"

A voice interrupted the three. "This is your friendly Captain Sys-Zero. We will be touching down in Soluna City in just a few moments."

Airon winked at Skye. "See you at GEARS then." He strode off toward the bridge.

Skye looked over at Sally, who was giggling quietly. "What?"

"You like him!"

Skye shook her head. "Crushes are for teenagers!"

Sally's nose wrinkled. "Aren't you a teenager?"

"I'm eighteen, so technically, I'm an adult."

"You're eigh_teen_, so _technically_ you're a teenager."

Skye sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "He's photogenic, okay? Can't I just think a guy is handsome?"

"You don't just think he's handsome, you wouldn't flirt with him. I think Worsh, our pilot is handsome, but that's about it. I don't flirt with him."

"Hey, I wasn't flirting!"

Sally put a hand on Skye's shoulder. "When you're stuttering and blushing like crazy and making fun of him, you're flirting with him, hon'."

Skye attempted a weak smile.

"Besides," Sally said, "he really is something to look at."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dean Warlic stood in his office, pacing. With the Soluna City Defense Force missing, the Students of GEARS University were the only protection the City could supply for its residents.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and one of his employees walked in.

"Yes, Judy?"

"Captain Sys-Zero will be arriving with the new students in five minutes."

Warlic stroked his silvery beard. "Sys-Zero? He may be the one I need to see about our current problem."

"Problem, sir?"

"It is nothing you need to concern yourself with, Judy."

"Any potential threat to this academy is of my concern, sir."

"This isn't about GEARS, now give me the statistics of these new initiates."

"Very well, sir." Judy handed Warlic a stack of computer printouts.

Warlic thumbed through the stack, pausing twice. Each time he paused, he took the sheet he'd been looking at and set it aside. Then he took the two papers and examined them side by side. "Hnh. This batch of students seem very skilled, especially these two. The young candidates Skye Storm and Airon Shadowslayer show great promise. If paired together, they may form a team that is all but unstoppable."

Judy came over to take a look. "Sir, did you pay any mind to half the statistics? These show that he will most likely choose to be a WolfBlade, and she will choose to be a RuneHawk. You know those two houses are rivals."

"Yes, but there will be a time where they will work together. I have foreseen it. I believe it will happen in the very near future, what with all these other events. Still, I think I should go see if Mysterious Johnson has seen anything more."

Judy was puzzled. "…Sir?"

Warlic was broken out of his trance. "I'm sorry. What is it?"

"They're coming in now."

Warlic looked out the window of his office. "And what of the pilot? Has he passed all the proper safety requirements?"

Judy looked down at her clipboard. "Pilot Worsh was recommended for this flight by the Kingadent himself."

"Hnh. I think it was Worsh who flew in new recruits last year. Let's hope that he does not give a repeat performance. It's hard to believe the Kingadent would request him. Slugwrath may be up to something."

"Careful where you say that, sir! You could be charged for treason," Judy hissed.

Warlic paid no attention to her. Instead, he kept his eyes on the transport outside the window. "Hmm. That approach angle looks a bit off…" Then the transport came into Judy's view. The thing came in upside down and crashed into the runway. Warlic nodded. "Just a bit." He chuckled. "Yep, I'm certain it was Worsh who flew for us last year. Judy, could you please get Nurse Helia Quinn on the line for me?"


End file.
